The Birth of Persuasion

Dr. Williams

November, 2010

Essential Question Warm-up

• How does one use ethos, pathos, and logos in speeches and writing to influence others?

Why?• Raise your hand if you want to be any of

these when you grow up.

• In order to LEAD, you must understand how to work with people.

• In order to LEAD, you must understand how people think.

• In order to LEAD, you must understand how to have your opinion heard.

• In order to LEAD, you must understand how to convince others to act or to believe as you want them to.

The Dead Greeks

• Greece—known for the birth of Western Civilization

• Around 2,300 years ago– Socrates taught Plato – taught Aristotle

• Believed that argument and debate were the highest form of discussion

• Debate revealed highest ideals or truths-would happen throughout Greece.

• Ability to argue both sides of an issue was an admirable trait.

Socrates

• “Invented” intangible things—art of philosophical discussion

• Inherited money from father

• Spent life engaging young people from wealthy family in Athens in discussions

• Questioned their confidence in the truth of popular opinions– Religion, politics

• Youth—loved him; Adults—were leery of his influence

• Eventually convicted of corrupting youth and meddling with religion.

• Before being put to death for his crime; committed suicide

We know what these men looked like because art of the time exists today.

Plato

• Studied under Pythagoras and Socrates

• Est. own academy in Athens to pass on mathematical theories and the philosophical vision of Socrates

• Tackled questions of morality

• “Can virtue be taught?” “Is it ever justified to defy the rules of the state?”

• Discussed the virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, different forms of government, and the idea of a perfect society

Aristotle

• Spent 20 years at Plato’s Academy• Became a teacher after Plato’s death and

opened own school in Athens• Spent life examining topics of logic,

philosophy, ethics, physics, biology, politics, and rhetoric

• Rhetoric-art of using words effectively in speaking and writing

Use of These Ideas Today

• First Amendment—Founders of US believed in freedom of speech; importance of discussion

• Congress—Before a bill is passed, there must be discussion, argument, and debate. Senators and Congressmen can change their minds based on the debates.

Important to Know

• Greek-style discussion does not include loud yelling, name calling, getting angry, or personal attacks.

• Very RESPECTFUL

3 Modes of Persuasion

• According to Aristotle

• ALL persuasive arguments include all 3 (including writing and speaking)

• Ethos

• Pathos

• Logos

Ethos--Ethics

• Base of English word ‘ethics’

• Principles of right and wrong

• Ethos relates to the writer who must be trustworthy and honest. Make sure your resources are reliable and respectable.

• Writer must be believable in order for reader to listen to an argument.

Ethos

• When writing persuasively– Do not use overblown language or exaggeration– Show that you have considered the other point of view (counter

argument)– Acknowledge the good arguments that support the opposing

view and point out any flaws in the arguments or explain how your arguments outweigh the other side.

– This makes you more believable.– This also give you the opportunity to point out any flaws in the

arguments of the other side or to explain how your arguments outweigh those from the other side. (Rebuttal)

Ethos

• Does the audience respect you?

• Does the audience believe you are of good character?

• Does the audience believe you are generally trustworthy?

• Does the audience believe you are an authority on this speech topic?

Consider the ethos of each of these people. What are some items that would be helped by them promoting them?

What are some that would be hurt?

• Oprah Winfrey

• Katie Holmes

• Colin Powell

• Queen Latifah

• Jeff Gordon

• Marge Simpson

• Taylor Swift

Pathos--Emotion

• Stands for ‘emotion’• Good arguments appeal to the emotions• Uses images and stories to pull at our

emotions• Soften and humanize facts and statistics• A paper on Alzheimer’s disease would be

more effective if you include a story about your grandfather who struggled with the disease. (anecdote)

Pathos

Do your words evoke feelings of … love? … sympathy? … fear?

Do your visuals evoke feelings of compassion? … envy?

Does your characterization of the competition evoke feelings of hate? contempt?

Using Pathos to Build Bridges

• Use emotions to connect with readers, to assure them that you understand their experiences, or to “feel their pain”

• The following is an example of an anecdote by Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder, at a 2005 commencement ceremony. He begins by telling the audience that he doesn’t have a fancy speech, just three stories from his life. Here is one…

My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started apple in my parents’ garage when I was twenty. We worked hard and in ten years, Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. We’d just released our fines creating, the Macintosh, a year earlier, and I’d just turned thirty, and then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started?

Well, Apple grew, we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so, things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge, and eventually we ad a falling out. When we did, our board of directors sided with him, and so at thirty, I was out, and very publically out.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods in my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer-animated feature film, “Toy Story,” and is now the most successful animation studio in the world.

Reflection on Jobs’ Speech

• Not a formal argument

• Prepares his audience to accept his advice that he gave later in his speech

Logos--Logic

• Stands for ‘logic’• Part of the argument based on reason, facts, and sound

information• Foundation of a good argument • Can’t have ethos without the logos• Keeps the pathos from being too sentimental

Find examples of ethos, pathos, and logos

Dear Santa,Last year you made my Christmas very happy by bringing me an adorable,

fluffy white kitty. As I am sure you know, because you can see everything, I named my kitty Pancho. Pancho and I were the best of friends, especially since I don’t have too many people friends. She and I did everything together, or at least until mean old Brady Pilber from down the street ran over Pancho while speeding in his truck with monster wheels.

As I’m sure you already know, I am a good person. Dr. Berry, my physics teacher, always says, “Crystal is such a good kid. I wish there were more like her.” I also was a loving friend to Pancho. I hope that this year for Christmas you can bring me another fluffy white kitty, since I know that Pancho will never come back.

Besides wanting a new friend, I am a responsible cat owner. I walked Pancho every day and will do the same with any new kitty. I also believe in cleaning litter boxes every day and feeding cats healthy wet food from Science Diet. I will brush any new kitty’s fur every single day and keep her claws neatly trimmed. Santa, I think you can clearly see that I would be an excellent candidate for a new kitty.

Important!

• When persuading– Have THREE strong reasons why to back up

your point of view– Back up the reason by including some of the

following• Facts• Expert Opinions• Statistics• Examples• Anecdotes

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Movies

• Now we are going to watch 3 movie clips from The American President, Jerry MaGuire, and Field of Dreams.

• You are going to try to identify uses of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

• Field of Dreams *Miracle on Ice

• The American President

• Jerry MaGuire

• Remember the Titans

Resources• Twisting Arms

• Americanrhetoric.com